Gabba crowd goes ‘nuts’ for Lions

Hugh McCluggage has never heard the Gabba roar like it did in Saturday night's win over West Coast.

The 21-year-old was instrumental in Brisbane's 44-point upset of the reigning premiers, bagging 20 disposals and a major, but said the highlight was hearing the Lions faithful find their voice in the stands.

A lively crowd of 20,029 matched Dayne Zorko's men in punching above their weight as long-forgotten chants of "Lions, Lions" echoed across the turf.

The significance of such volumes isn't lost on McCluggage.

"I think that's the great thing about the Gabba, you know. It wasn't a packed house by any means but it felt like it was out there - it was so loud," McCluggage said.

"What I love about the Gabba crowd is they don't (just) celebrate the goals, they celebrate the big tackles, the smothers, the big spoils over the line (like) when Hodgey (Luke Hodge) came forward and punched that one into the sixth row. They were going nuts."

The Lions' sublime showing and the crowd's response place Round 1, 2019 highly on McCluggage's all-time favourite games list, but the midfielder says it's just reward for the fans.

McLuggage and the Lions withstood the pressure form the Eagles. Picture: AAP

"It was just awesome fun out there to be honest … and at the end of the game, I was sitting on the bench just listening to the crowd," he said.

"I guess for us it's just being able to pay them back in a way and play some good, exciting footy for them.

"There's only so many games you can lose by under a goal and keep being positive about it and that was a real focus for us this year, being able to turn those losses into wins and to be able to start that on Saturday night in Round 1 against a very good side was really exciting."

The midfielder praised his team's effort across the park but made special note of debutant Lincoln McCarthy's four-goal performance.

"He started a little bit poorly, I think he'd admit that, (but) he was able to bounce back," McCluggage said.

"His second quarter really inspired us and he helped Charlie (Cameron) out to take a little pressure off him."

Lincoln McCarthy has been a hit with Lions fans. Picture: Getty Images